Roche Tissue Diagnostics named top workplace in Tucson

Roche Tissue Diagnostics employs about 9,900 people across the U.S. and in 2021, its 10 locations conducted about 27 billion diagnostic tests globally.

There are more than 1,300 employees at the greater Tucson branch, which is Roche Tissue Diagnostics’ global headquarters. The site serves as both a research and development hub, as well as a manufacturer.

The 12-building, 446,300-square-foot Oro Valley campus sits on 118 acres. In Marana, Roche has its 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which doubled in size following a nearly two-year expansion project that finished at the end of 2022.

In 2021, about $10.9 million in “local economic activity” and 28 jobs were generated here, the company says.

However large worldwide conglomerate Roche Holding AG is, what we know today as Roche Tissue Diagnostics still has its roots firmly in Tucson.

With a company that spans continents, one could assume it’d be easy for an employee to lose a sense of purpose, value or feelings of self-worth when you’re such a seemingly small cog in the machine that is Roche Tissue Diagnostics.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth, which is how the company landed the No. 1 spot in Tucson’s inaugural Top Workplaces awards for a large employer.

Rebecca Ewald, the lifecycle leader (LCL) for oncology assays at Roche Tissue Diagnostics, has experienced it firsthand.

“You make an impact, on people’s health, even if you’re just a small cog in the wheel. Your work really means something because there’s always a patient at the end,” she said. “That for me has been very inspiring and motivating throughout my career because it could really attach what I was doing clearly to a broader impact.”

Ewald, as an LCL, is responsible for managing a product portfolio of over-250 different tissue diagnostic assays, or tests. A German American dual citizen, she was a scientist by trade before joining Roche in 2008, studying biology and neurobiology.

“It was (a big jump). What I realized actually is that I wanted to have greater impact... Personally, what I felt is that the amount input I provided and the amount of output that I got was not quite proportionate,” she said. “Roche really spoke to me when I saw an ad for this management training program.”

Soon she was traveling across the world on a two-year program, spending six months in Portugal, Connecticut and Germany before finishing the program at Roche’s headquarters in Basel.

Ewald moved to Tucson almost 12 years ago, first beginning in the business development department, handling licensing agreements and acquisitions among other responsibilities.

Mission-driven company

Starting her new position about three months ago, Ewald says that Roche has been a “mission-driven” company from the start.

“The influence of Tom Grogan is still something that you feel on campus because he really established the culture, that it’s all about the patients and that our mission is to help all patients afflicted with cancer. That has kind of perpetuated itself throughout,” she said. “It aligns very well with our overall mission at Roche, to do now what patients need next.”

Ewald says that the campus’ emphasis on this mission is different.

“Roche is generally very patient-focused, but the spirt and the culture (here) is different... Cancer diagnostics is somethings that’s very personal and everybody, I think, knows somebody, a loved one, friend, family member who’s been afflicted by cancer,” she said. “The reinforcement of bringing patients on campus, the culture that was set by Tom Grogan and others, bringing this and making this real, is something actually that has a very strong tradition here.”

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Ewald says being part of a much larger family of companies takes off the “existential stress” some smaller companies may feel.

“The longer-term strategic view that maybe other companies don’t have, especially startups that have to deliver on a quarterly basis to investors, where the pressure is very high... I’m not saying the pressure is low at Roche, but it’s a different kind of pressure,” she explained. “It’s a less-existential type of pressure (that) comes with being part of a large pharma-and-diagnostics company.”

Productivity is not the end result of leadership, it’s to promote a positive work culture where productivity is a residual effect, Ewald says.

“If you can be authentic at work, if you feel psychologically safe, if you can express yourself and feel that you can be who you are at work, it actually overall increases productivity. The goal is not productivity, but it’s a positive outcome basically, it’s the end result,” she said. “You can’t link this to a direct dollar sign, if I do this then ‘x’ amount is going to come out of it, but I think that Roche is listening to the research that has been done that a more inclusive workplace with diverse opinions and leadership, a positive culture, it ultimately helps advance your strategy.”

Serving employees

For Tom Hebner, the senior director for facilities, real estate and site services at Roche Tissue Diagnostics locally, his priority is on a different set of customers — the ones who get the job done.

“If me and my team do our job really well, then those scientists can do amazing work because they don’t have to worry about lighting, air, taking a break or being able to get a good meal,” he said.

Hebner first learned this sentiment when he started in retail at 23 years old, working in Seattle for Nordstrom. He has over 30 years of experience in real estate, construction, facilities and site services. Prior to joining Roche Tissue Diagnostics in 2019 he primarily made a career for himself in the retail sector for companies like Starbucks, Nordstrom and REI, among others.

But when he got to Roche, Hebner recalled, it was the same as any of his previous positions.

“Get the people focused on what the issues are, make sure they all got a place at the table, if you will, (and that) they understand what we’re after. It’s not retail but it’s the same model for success,” he said. “My focus is on the employees so they can serve the customer. Now it’s just part of my DNA.”

Hebner led the work on the new Employee Forum Building, which he says has made an incredible impact on the campus culture.

The 45,000 square foot building houses a cafeteria, wellness and fitness center.

“The plated food for any employee is really better than anything you can get (around), and that makes a big difference for employees,” he said.

Roche Tissue Diagnostics subsidizes a majority of the costs associated with things like catering, to bring a more palatable price point to the “customers” of Hebner and his team.

“When the World Cup was going on, we put the matches on our giant plasma screen TV, and it was awesome to see people come just to watch,” Hebner said. “You go in there anytime and it’s alive with laughter (and) conversation. I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s what I hear the most from my ‘customers,’ is that they just love being a part of this rejuvenation of the workplace.”

“To me, our customer is the employee... Really, my area is to create a great environment (for you) to do your work and love what you do.”